Roundtable: Block Bust?

Block B are no strangers to controversy, but their recent debacle may be their biggest yet, with news coming out on the 4th that the group was suing their agency Stardom (formerly Brand New Stardom) for lack of pay and fraud, among other issues, and seeking termination of their contract. As Cynthia wrote earlier this week, such a turn of events occurring so soon after their successful comeback took many by surprise, including the Seoulbeats team. So for this roundtable, we’re giving our writers the chance to have their say.

What are your thoughts on: this new lawsuit; the influences leading to the present situation; how previous lawsuits will influence the direction this one takes, and finally; how these events will affect Block B and K-pop?

Nabeela: Thoughts? You want to know my thoughts?! Here are my thoughts in this particular order: NO OH MY GOD NO NOT MY BABIES NO BABY JIHOON WHY OH GOD NO NO NO NOT THIS GROUP NOT THIS PLEASE ANYTHING BUT THIS WAE OH GOD IM GOING TO THROW UP Needless to say, when the news broke I had nearly choked on the Caesar salad I was eating at Panera and then stood up and stormed around because I was having a moment. My jaw honestly dropped, because after the Thailand interview controversy I didn’t think matters could get ever get worse for Block B. Their comeback was nothing but brilliance, but I think I speak for many when I admit to being blind-sided by this news.

Given the state of K-pop, however, I like to think that Block B will come out on top of this one. There’s been a lot of talk about mismanagement this past year, so much so that I’m sure anyone with a pulse read about some sketch shit going on at an entertainment agency at some point fairly recent. I think this Stardom scandal is just another layer on the cake that’s going to have been cleaned up like all the rest. It’s fairly hard to ignore these matters once the it’s caught the attention of the public; this lawsuit will be dealt with.

Also, I think Block B suing as a group shows more unity behind the cause–there’s consensus to what degree they’ve been screwed and they’re throwing their name into this fight for a legitimate reason. And with such a brilliant comeback, I think this time around they’ve made more friend than foe out of the K-pop fandom, so bringing the lawsuit up was probably a now or never moment too. People are definitely going to stand behind them and fight for an answer.

While it hurts me as a huge BBC to know that my boys have been played big time by the K-pop machine, I’m really glad they are taking action as a unit. That way, the image of Block B can’t necessarily be altered–there can be no new Block B, no new Block B members, no Block B ‘new and improved’ so to speak, no new sound. If things go awry (GOD FORBID) when we think of Block B, we’ll always think of the same team that stuck it out until the end.

Amy:This push and pull is common in the K-pop industry (“We’re suing for fraud!” “You’re lying, we’re innocent!”) and we’ll never know the truth of what happened because reporters will never dig, but I think Block B is setting an awesome example.

We obviously know very little concrete information at this point, but it’s great to watch them do this together as one group because they’re presenting a case as a united front, and seven members makes a good united front. In situations like this, it’s always better to do things as a group than not, as we can see from the awesome and not-at-all painful to witness examples of JYJ vs. SM and even Hangeng vs. SM. It also helps that Stardom is a very small company with very brief history (thus, less clout, less ability to hush up the media).

Block B has had a rough year and it’s completely shitty that they had to take being swindled to get this out there, but I hope this is the start of some kind of chain of dominoes for other idols/groups who are unfairly treated. Obviously I doubt shadiness in the industry is ever going to stop, but so few people speak up that just one or two anomalies leave an impact.

Some people might say that this is going to damage them since they’re rookies, but I actually think it’s good they’re doing this now before they get even more established. The bigger the fanbase, the bigger the controversy, the higher the status, the harder the fall. Block B is a solidly talented group, so I think this will be a good case study to see what options there are for kids who are talented by don’t have good management, and what it means for the next company to sign them.

Cynthia: A lot of people keep worrying about how they’ll end up because they’re just rookies, but in my opinion they’re currently handling it like pros. Like Amy said, sticking together as a united front against their label can do wonders, and the timing is great too – they’re not too popular to start a huge controversy, but not too low to be completely ignored/overshadowed. And the way they firmly stuck up for themselves in response to Stardom’s statement has me impressed – they basically said “Stop lying, we’ll see you in court” to a label, and that takes some guts no matter how small the company is.

One of the things I first thought was “Wow, they’re so young to have to handle a lawsuit.” Then it struck me that Block B is now about the same age JYJ was when they filed their lawsuit in 2009 – early 20s. And while as a group Block B have not been around for very long, both Zico and Kyung have predebut experience in the music industry that has probably shaped what they are looking for in their careers and how to go about achieving it (versus just submitting themselves to all the bullcrap of the idol industry). Also, I feel like Block B might have a bit more knowledge going into this lawsuit on what to do/what not to do based on the highly-publicized lawsuits that have occurred before them.

What I’m wondering is if they manage to leave their label, where are they going to go? I’ve heard some suggestions that they get picked up by YG, or TS Entertainment so they can be with B.A.P, and I’ve even seen some say they should do a Shinhwa and create their own label. While I can’t really see them being under YG and retaining their unique flavor (I mean look what happened to Epik High), nor do I think they have the power (and obviously not the money) to do a Shinhwa, I’m not going to lie, I’d really dig them going with TS Entertainment and having some Block B.A.P action. The possibilities for great collaborations between the members (Zico/Zelo, Taeil/Daehyun, etc.) are endless. But that’s mainly the fangirl in me talking.

Amy: B.A.P + Block B would be glorious but…too many cooks in the house. I don’t think TS Entertainment has the infrastructure or manpower in place to support another group that’s even larger than B.A.P.

Nabeela: In regards to shitty management on Stardom’s part, it doesn’t really surprise me, but it still does, a little a bit. I’m sure laundering happens in K-pop way more often than we think it already does. Part of me wants to say why would Stardom do this, they’re such a small entertainment agency, but then again, in reality, I doubt it makes a difference how big or how small you are, if you can take the money and run it really doesn’t matter where you are.

I’m glad Block B is sticking up for their rights as artists, like Amy mentioned, before they really get established. The boys are so talented and many of them are so involved with their music that I don’t doubt that they could succeed anywhere. But really thought how awesome would Block.B.A.P. be like c’mon TS make your move Secret really isn’t going places, now’s your chance. Woollim might be a fun place, or maybe J.Tune even? BlockBLAQ anyone?

Ambika: Stardom Entertainment seemed a bit off because Block B got less time on music shows with “Nillili Mambo” than 2012 rookies from smaller companies; likewise, EvoL was short on airtime; and that lawsuit against Brand New Music about Miss $ seemed like it was really reaching for straws–or I guess a cut in the profits in that case. I get that the group had their Thailand scandal, but even before that, with “Nanrina,” their screen time was ridiculously small and a frequent complaint among fans. Even with that, the great extent of the dissatisfaction and shade that seems to be surrounding events of the past year or so is shocking and an eye-opening way to start the new year.

What has been reassuring about this incident is the quick action that Block B’s side is taking to fight back against Stardom’s claims. Block B’s representatives responded to Stardom Entertainment’s official position within the same day, addressing each point of Stardom’s position and ending with a warning against believing every word the company puts out. At this point, it seems like Block B will come out on top of this one whole as long as they can follow through with their position. As to which company might take them, I just want one to.

Mark: I suspect there’s been some funny business going on with Stardom ever since its split with Brand New Music. It seems that Brand New Music left with all the veteran artists, leaving Stardom with mainly Block B. I find it particularly curious why companies quarrel over small amounts of cash. How hard is it to pay the members their monthly salaries?

It can be deduced from Stardom’s statement that there is possibly some conflict between wages being withheld from the members during the April to October 2011 period when the company had yet to reap in a profit. Even if Stardom wasn”t sure whether they were going to be profitable in the first six to seven months and did in fact withhold wages from the members without their acknowledgement, the least they can do is pay them back those wages so they can bury the issue. As for the other grievances, the whole money swindling and laundering by said CEO is quite egregious. Aren’t they headed by Cho PD? Where is he in all this?

Lindsay: If, in fact, shady business has been going on with Block B’s company since the group’s debut it would explain a lot. It always seemed strange to me that I hadn’t heard of them sooner, but their lack of participation in the larger variety circuit is certainly partially to blame for that. And speaking of fans calling for more Block B screen time, the group didn’t appear in any of the end of the year gayos. I don’t know about you guys, but I saw multiple comments on the world wide web from Block B fans noticing this. Seen in the new light of this recent issue, it is hard to say whether them not being present in the gayos had to do with the company’s poor promotional scheduling, or if the group and the company had already had a falling out (halting their activities completely) and simply didn’t make it public until now.

Fatouma: My first reaction to this was not again, and sobbing. I haven’t been a BBC for very long so I didn’t see any signs of this at all. All I’m really thankful now is that they’re doing this as an united front and are not divided. But I’m really worried for Block B surviving this debacle with their company, they’re not as established as let’s say JYJ, Shinhwa and JTL from H.O.T was when they split from their companies, so I wonder if they have strong enough support to move on from this and I wonder what entertainment company would be willing to take thim because of their issues last year. Kudos to them for taking this on so early on in their careers, but hopefully it doesn’t bite them in the butt in the long run. Fingers crossed for Jungle Entertainment to take this kids under their wings or perhaps Jay Park‘s label, SidusHQ?

Sophia: I for one cannot fathom how a company that is claiming low returns can have the gall to launch a new girl group? If you don’t have the funds to pay your existing acts, don’t waste money trying (and failing) to make an impact during the most debut saturated year of the them all. I guess I agree with Nabeela though, if there was a time for Block B to come out about this, post-Blockbuster was it. Even if P.O. had to pay for the stage-outfits out of his own pocket (good lord I hope that’s just a rumor because I’m getting teary just thinking about it). That, and the fact that it could have had a bearing on the Thailand incident.

Here’s hoping they find an agency willing to take them all and not screw them over. Maybe an adoption campaign is in order…

Nicholas: As much as I like the idea of an idol group where fans appear to run things, it appears more like a nightmare particularly where many things that happen in K-pop function in such a mutually exclusive way, and when fans come in there is room for so much conflict.

Take for instance musical development. On one hand there are fans who are pleased with anything and everything their idols put out, then there are those who believe that the music should always aim to be better. Or even media exposure. While some fans prize their idols being in the spotlight constantly as a sign of popularity, there are those who would rather let the poor saps get some rest and not constantly be pressured into a comeback.

Add to that fandom at times being like touch paper on top of TNT and I kind of prefer my idol groups run by some company. In fact even for groups that claim to be fan oriented its often The Powers That Be who make key decisions.

Collectively-run talk aside I am wishing Block B would make it past this. They have too much left field appeal to be forgotten easily, as well as hoping someone would note how in some ways the idol game is so unfairly stacked against the performers.

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

no one mentioned that Zico just came out with his own mixtape- he started releasing some of the songs from it back in September, I was wondering if that might have come into play since he didn’t slap the “stardom” label on it

yes, a mixtape review would be good right about now…Given that it’s a mixtape, I don’t think the company label is necessary in most cases though.

@Sophia:disqus : Pyo paying for the outfits is most likely true. The other members mentioned it in an interview that took place shortly after their debut.

Now is the best time to launch the suit, not just because the group’s public image has improved, but also because Stardom would have even less reason to withhold their pay given the recent round of successful promotions and sales. It’s quite obvious that the company’s statement tried to direct attention to the periods when the group had supposedly not brought in any profit (i.e. the few months after debut and their period of hiatus) and avoided addressing the recent round of promotions when the physical album has clearly sold well. So even disregarding all the other promotional activities, given the sale volume, relatively low mv production costs, and the fact that the members themselves handled parts of the album production as well as some of the expenses, Stardom really doesn’t have a leg to stand on this time.

Ivy Pham

Why has no one mentioned Amoeba Culture (Dynamic Duo, Supreme Team, Primary, Yankie, Planet Shiver, Rhythm Power, Zion. T). Although Block B is more of an idol group, their sound would most def stay the same under the highly hip hop oriented company and has had great releases recently. Fluxus (Bye Bye Sea, Clazziquai Project, Ibadi, Loveholics, W & Whale) or Jungle Entertainment (Drunken Tiger, Leesang, Tasha) would be great as well as all three companies have proven their commitment to producing quality music! But yes, where is Cho PD in this??? Either way, from what they’ve released to the press so far, it’s obvious that there’s no way Block B is going to back down. :)

I totally agree with you and @twitter-568610271:disqus I am so glad that they’re not backing down either, and that they’re showing a strong and united front. I only wish that that had happened with the DBSK debacle.

animasaurus

I could see Amoeba. Imo the best bet would be “soul company” with the likes of Kebee, crucial star, the quiett, fana, and eluphant (kebee is a member lol). It’s seriously the most legit underground crew in Korea and could give them some street cred and much needed public awareness. I feel like Block B suits their style more rather than some super glossy company.

Well Block B definitely doesn’t seem to be backing down, I remember their statement being in the lines of ‘come to court and we’ll see whose facts are right’.

Best case scenario would be either they get signed on to another record label with a different name, maybe ‘Block C’ or something, or that they settle their issues with their current label and carry on like ‘Kara’ did.

goldengluvsk2

yes, my mouth dropped wide open because they handled their statement like a BOSS… I do wish they could just get signed on to another label… even when I liked the creative freedom they had there, all their monkey business, the boys dont need that.

myloveisDRC

Shinhwa didn’t “split” from SM. Their contracts were up and SM only wanted to re-sign some members. All six decided they’d rather take their chances together elsewhere, so with Eric leading them they fought SM for the rights to the Shinhwa name. And as you know, the court ruled in favor of Shinhwa.

Why am I sharing this? First, because a lot of BBCs and other fans in general are misinformed about important events in K-pop history and I am a proud orange princess. And second, because I want to share some advice with fans of Block B: The Shinhwa members credit the support of Shinhwa Changjo as the thing that helped them persevere during times of uncertainty and hardship. So BBCs, send all your love and encouragement to Block B and let them know you have their back. In the end, your loyalty is what will motivate them to keep fighting.

hapacalgirl

Hello fellow changjo! Love the avatar and username. Thanks for enlightening newer kpop fans of what happened because as a longtime kpop fan (~ since 1998/1999) it amazes me sometimes the misconceptions that newer fans often have of what happened during that time. I remember being a big fan of shinhwa back then ( i still am) and reading about all of this unfolding.

myloveisDRC

Oh I’ve seen you around! Hello there! Always lovely to meet a fellow Shinhwa Changjo. It’s no problem. Like I said, proud orange princess. You know this even better than I do, I’m sure ^^

I fell under the K-pop spell in 2009, but didn’t commit to Shinhwa until they made their comeback with The Return. I can’t get those 13 years back, but whatever amount of time Shinhwa have left to give I’ll gladly take it and send twice as much love.

myloveisDRC

Oh I’ve seen you around! Hello there! Always lovely to meet a fellow Shinhwa Changjo. It’s no problem. Like I said, proud orange princess. You know this even better than I do, I’m sure ^^

I fell under the K-pop spell in 2009, but didn’t commit to Shinhwa until they made their comeback with The Return. I can’t get those 13 years back, but whatever amount of time Shinhwa have left to give I’ll gladly take it and send twice as much love.

myloveisDRC

Oh I’ve seen you around! Hello there! Always lovely to meet a fellow Shinhwa Changjo. It’s no problem. Like I said, proud orange princess. You know this even better than I do, I’m sure ^^

I fell under the K-pop spell in 2009, but didn’t commit to Shinhwa until they made their comeback with The Return. I can’t get those 13 years back, but whatever amount of time Shinhwa have left to give I’ll gladly take it and send twice as much love.

I am very worried about them, but I know they are very talented and can manage themselves well.. (they did until this day, didn’t they?) So I am pretty sure that some agencies are going to be interested in them. I just hope the case doesn’t take long, cause I want those boys back in action! and I hope all the members stick together!… BBCs Fighting!

You know, they got promoted really well on MTV and on MBC Music’s Show Champion for their Nillili Mambo promotions. MTV gave them a reality show solely for them and even made them MCs for The Show(they are no longer MCs at this time). Show Champion’s talk sections are a bit variety oriented and they where able to be part of the talk panel four times and interact with other idols. So they weren’t totally screwed on that front, they just hadn’t really been able to settle themselves on the other big stations. Which makes it a bit confusing and suspect as to why they could find numerous spots on the two afore mentioned stations for the most part. I just hope that once this stuff is settled that at least those two channels would be willing to welcome them back.

Everything is pretty much up in the air ’cause you’d never know what impact these court things will have on anybody in the idol industry. But either way I’m glad that they decided to sue if they weren’t getting paid even if it might mean throwing away the Block B name or disbanding after this is all over. I don’t want to be pessimistic about this thing so I’m holding onto hope that another agency would be able to take them in as a group and I’m prepared to deal with the disbanding possibility if it comes to pass. I just don’t want to spread the negativity around like others are doing.

GracefulCassieShapley

All I can say is that they need to stick together as a group during this lawsuit, it will make their case stronger. Its better to say that ” we have all been screwed over” than as to “only some of us have been screwed.” Similar to KARA, Block-B is stardom’s bread. KARA’s lawsuit was successful and negotiations were made because KARA was the only one bring money in for DSP, so therefore DSPE HAD to oblige to KARA or lose their major source of income. Now, I am not too sure on how much Block-B is bringing in, but I would guess Block-B is a major source of their income. I am not sure what Stardom will do. Either they will try to work something out with Block-B or they will let them go (if the latter happens, it probably means that Stardom has other acts or they aren’t in a financial good situation to pay Block-B anyways.)

I bring up the DSP/KARA case because this is a similar boat that Block-B is in, as opposed to the DBSK-Hangeng debacle. SME fought JYJ (and not all of them parcipated in the lawsuit) instead of fighting for them because a) SME is too stubborn or prideful to succumb to JYJ’s demands, and b) SME can actually afford to let JYJ go. Although JYJ was a big loss for their company, they had SNSD, Super Junior, SHINee, BoA, and even F(x) there to make up for more than half of what they lost. Basically, a big power like SME has other groups to rely on for income and cash. Hangeng was even less of a loss to SME because heck…Super Junior still has ten other marketable members. However, lesser powers such as DSP and Stardom, don’t have a fall back group that will replace the income of another group filing for a lawsuit. DSP needs KARA, and Stardom still needs Block-B to a certain extent. It would be like (I know this won’t be a great example but…), 4minute (minus HyunA) filing in for a lawsuit against CubeE. There would be some loss for CubeE, but Cube would still have B2ST bringing in their income and HyunA. However, if B2ST decided for whatever reason to file in for lawsuit, that would be a whole different ball game.

The sad thing is that Block-B is probably not the only group going through this shit, but they’re one of the few that are willing to take action. Its not that other groups are cowardly, but lawsuits are extremely risky. There is always the possibility of you losing or having to leave your entertaintment….and then what? Will another entertainment take you in? Will you be blacklisted and have some publicity push/support? These are all risks that most idol groups are not willing to take. They don’t want to lose the producers, promotion pushes, and somewhat security of belonging to an entertainment, because most of idol groups today (unless super popular or talented) don’t have what it takes to survive on their own. Its hard for these groups to win in some cases.

I am not sure what will happen to Block-B, but I do hope the best for these boys and pray that everything goes well. They are not only talented, but resilient and hard working group that continues to push through obstacles. I still find it kind of suspicious that it was so easy for the manager to pose as a CEO as Stardom claims

As always, throwing shade at YG for “fucking up” Epik High. As if that one Tablo album never happened.

Also. Jungle will not sign them. They have MIB to promote, and they aren’t even doing a good job at it.

endymion21

Not to mention Epik High had full creative rights over their album.
They just wanted to do something up beat for once.

People who have never heard an Epik High song before are using them as an excuse to bash YG

muggle87

i wasn’t going to say anything but jesus i am so happy that u guys mention it.

its like they didn’t read tablo interviews, tweets about this album and it seem that a lot ppl keep forgetting about fever’s end which everyone including SB loved, what did they forget that album was also produce under yg. so their logic is that yg decided to screw epik high but not tablo solo album. come on now.

“While I can’t really see them being under YG and retaining their unique flavor (I mean look what happened to Epik High)” I honestly didn’t know the writers of SB are little butthurt fangirls. Now seriously this comment pissed me off beyond anything, it’s like I’m reading from allkpop comment boxes or 6T threads.

Please enlighten me, what is it that YGE did to Epik High exactly? Improved their visual style? Gave them a bit of brighter colors for the MV’s? YGE nor YG himself had nothing to do with the process of creating that album, yes they might have bumped heads on the title tracks but YG had nothing to do with which songs went on the album, with how the songs were made or how they sounded. Tablo said it like 20 times so far but all of you just seem to put fingers in your ears and decide to play dumb. I’m honestly sick of it. He said that Epik High and he himself wanted the album to be upbeat, fun and something they didn’t do so far. They just wanted to vent out and have fun after all the shit they went through. How many times does he have to say that for all of you to stop saying “Look at what YG did to Epik High”. They would have made this album even if they were under another label, they just might have not have had the same styling that’s all, period. So I would really appreciate if people here would stop making YG this big bad wolf who fucked up Epik High. Does anyone even remember Tablo’s solo album? Or is that not important? YGE and YG gave Epik High exactly what they needed. A space to do what they want to do without worrying about money or the business side of the industry. And they did a great job.

Now if by some stretch of luck (for Block B that is), YGE takes them in (not likely to happen but let’s pretend), they would receive the same treatment. Now it’s not like Block B (style wise) had an image that’s not 100% an idol image. Even sound wise, so why are you all pretending that Block B is this 100% hip hop group that does 100% hip hop songs. They aren’t and they don’t, period. They’re an idol group, they’re just more hip hop inclined than some other groups. But they still have every other idol group characteristics. Now I wish for all of you to stop pretending like Block B wouldn’t hit gold if they were to join YG and like that wouldn’t be beneficial mostly for them.

I’ve already stated in the previous Block B article that I don’t see the entire group being taken in by another company and I still stand by it. They’re not JYJ don’t have their reputation or fame or importance and they’re not one person like Jay is. If they don’t settle this with their own company, they’ll probably go their separate ways. I don’t think Jungle would take the entire group (they might take Zico in but even that’s a stretch), they can barely manage M.I.B, they clearly don’t know how to handle an idol-like group. And well this goes pretty much for all the smaller companies I see listed below. Amoeba Culture is not a company which has idol groups, again might take Zico and/or Kyung/Taeil but the entire group, no.

I think Mark and Ambika hit the nail on the head on their views on Stardom. Stardom, even when it was formerly known as Brand New Stardom, has had a shoddy reputation among long-time BBCs for poor management skills in a lot of areas. The fact that the boys (and EvoL) are RARELY seen on variety and couldn’t even get a full promotion cycle during their last comeback really provides testimony to this. And, yes, the company has been VERY different since the it split from BNM. Their little “tantrum” when Miss $’s Yumi left told me that Cho PD was no longer involved in the executive administration aspect of his company. While he is the founder of Stardom, I believe he handed the title of CEO to someone else (most likely this Mr. Lee we’ve been hearing about) a while ago.

And what’s with Stardom saying that there hasn’t been a profit but as of March/April of last year, they said they were going to move to a new, swanky building with bigger practice rooms and a nicer studio??? A plan like doesn’t churn up immediately. They must’ve been planning that since 2011, which brings me to my conclusion that there WAS a profit that was being made. They have money to build a new building, debut EvoL, AND train a whole bunch of male trainees for Topp Dogg BUT no money to pay their “golden goose”? VERY stupid.

I think Mark and Ambika hit the nail on the head on their views on Stardom. Stardom, even when it was formerly known as Brand New Stardom, has had a shoddy reputation among long-time BBCs for poor management skills in a lot of areas. The fact that the boys (and EvoL) are RARELY seen on variety and couldn’t even get a full promotion cycle during their last comeback really provides testimony to this. And, yes, the company has been VERY different since the it split from BNM. Their little “tantrum” when Miss $’s Yumi left told me that Cho PD was no longer involved in the executive administration aspect of his company. While he is the founder of Stardom, I believe he handed the title of CEO to someone else (most likely this Mr. Lee we’ve been hearing about) a while ago.

And what’s with Stardom saying that there hasn’t been a profit but as of March/April of last year, they said they were going to move to a new, swanky building with bigger practice rooms and a nicer studio??? A plan like doesn’t churn up immediately. They must’ve been planning that since 2011, which brings me to my conclusion that there WAS a profit that was being made. They have money to build a new building, debut EvoL, AND train a whole bunch of male trainees for Topp Dogg BUT no money to pay their “golden goose”? VERY stupid.

goldengluvsk2

I’m still confused, mad and searching everywhere for news on this. I still dont understand how agencies can be so shady… since they debuted, even when I wanted to watch more of them on variety and music shows, I stopped complaining and tried to understand because they were from a “small company” that with the zillions of idols out there must struggle a bit to get them on music programs and stuff like that but then they debuted Evol.. I was like “so they’ll make these girls struggle too?!” which struggling company would debut a new group? and later, the poor girls suffered the same way or worst since their cycle promotion was short which are vital for rookie groups… i just hope they -and Evol- could find a new company that gives them creative freedom and would pay them on time without them needing to listen bullshit from them because they’re so talented it gives me goosebumps to think they’ll fade and forget their dream because some money hungry bastards..

PS: and yes, WHERE THE HELL IS CHO PD?! i think he left that company centuries ago…

I just have one thing to add that I find strange. Zico and Kyung are supposed to have composed, written and/or produced some of Block B’s music so can anyone explain to me how come even they didn’t get any money?

In my opinion, for a group to stand together like that, it means something is really wrong. Otherwise, just some of them would have filed for a lawsuit. I just really hope the boys come out on top of this issue and can continue their careers as a group since I’m sure they have many more sides to share with us and they are quite talented musicians. Block B and BBCs fighting~~

TheJadeBullet

Stardom said in their statement that the boys didn’t get paid during the hiatus because apparently they “didn’t make any money”. So clearly, Stardom doesn’t understand the concept of royalties.